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It's TLA week! We've been bumping into librarians all week long. It's been a blast. Here's what's been going on elsewhere in the world: ~All huff and no puff? Amazon had said it would close its distribution center in Irving this week amid debate over whether or not the online retailer is responsible for paying … Continue reading As the Book World Turns….
Last night we had the extreme displeasure of hosting Lemony Snicket - who couldn't even be bothered to show up. Instead we had to suffice with Snicket's official representative, Daniel Handler. Fortunately, Handler turned out to be a pretty okay guy, though we did have to shout ALL 13 WORDS from Snicket's new book, 13 … Continue reading Another Disappointing Evening with Lemony Snicket
Today's poem was recommended by our Business Accounts Manager, Michael McCarthy: Thanks by W. S. Merwin from his 1988 collection, The Rain in the Trees. Merwin is one of America's most prolific scribblers, with over 30 books of poetry, translation and prose under his belt. In 2010 the Library of Congress named Merwin the seventeenth … Continue reading Poem of the Day: ‘Thanks’ by W. S. Merwin
With Lemony Snicket coming to the store tonight and strains of irreverent children's literature wafting in the air, we're going with Shel Silverstein for today's poem of the day: They've Put a Brassiere on a Camel from the collection A Light in the Attic (HarperCollins, 1981). (Note: it was extremely difficult to choose ONE … Continue reading Poem of the Day: ‘They’ve Put a Brassiere on a Camel’ by Shel Silverstein
We're going way back to the late nineteenth century today to bring you a poem recommended by Raul, one of BookPeople's Inventory Managers: Terence, This is Stupid Stuff by the British poet A. E. Housman (1859-1936.) In the first stanza, Terence's friends tell him his poetry is useless and boring. The stanzas which follow are … Continue reading Poem of the Day: ‘Terence, This is Stupid Stuff’ by A. E. Housman
Today's poem in celebration of National Poetry Month comes from me, Julie, BookPeople's blog manager. This weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Harry Ransom Center for the first time where I spent some time squinting at the notes David Foster Wallace wrote all over his copy of Don DeLillo's The Names. The experience … Continue reading Poem of the Day: Marginalia by Billy Collins
Blinking Ephemeral Valentine, the new collection of poems from Joni Wallace. Joni will appear at BookPeople Friday, April 15th, 8pm to speak about and sign copies of her new book. To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else. — Emily Dickinson Why I Read Poetry So much noise from police helicopters … Continue reading Why Joni Wallace Reads (and Writes) Poetry
To get us ready for the weekend parties, here's T. S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, an anthem for the socially anxious everywhere. You can find it in print in Selected Poems by T. S. Eliot. Eliot began writing the poem in 1910 and it was first published in 1915 in … Continue reading Poem of the Day: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Wislawa Szymborska Bookseller Dublina Moulik recommends today's poem for our continued celebration of National Poetry Month, Miracle Fair by Krakow-based poet Wislawa Szymborska. If you enjoy this one, take a look at Szymborska's collections Monologue of a Dog; Here; and her Poems: New and Collected. ~ Miracle Fair Commonplace miracle: that so many commonplace miracles … Continue reading Poem of the Day: Miracle Fair
(Brian Contine is working through Melville House’s novella series. He’ll be reviewing them all here. This is the second review in the series.) ~ Inside the cover flap of Melville House’s printing of Herman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener you’ll see the statement, “Academics hail it as the beginning of Modernism…” These academics are as bold … Continue reading Review: Bartleby the Scrivener
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